Sheet-feeding machine.



H. K. KING.

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE. APPUCATION'HLED s'EPT. 4. 1914.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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INVENTOR. .i #awa/.J

ATTORNEY.

H. K. KING.

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man s1 T.4. 1914.

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HOWARD K.; KING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO CHAMBERS BROTHERS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Patented Sept. 21, MM5.

Original application led January l24, 1914, Serial No. 814,096. Divided and this application led September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD K. KING, a2 citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have inventedA a new and useful Sheet-Feeding Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in sheet feeding machines.

The object is to provide improved means for separating and delivering single sheets from a bank of sheets.

The particular improvement, which is the I subject-matter of this invention', is the presser foot or pile drag, and the adjustable means for automatically controlling the same to suit the various requirements of sheets of characteristics; that is, sheets that are hard to comb and sheets lthat are easy to comb.

This application is a divisional of my i pending applicationSerial No. 814,096 filed January x24-, 1914. Referring to the drawings, which illustrate merely by way of example, suitable lmeans for embodying my invention-Figure l is a side elevation showing the general arrangement of combing wheel and feeding roller operating between the upper and lower tables. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing the combing roller and the air valve controlled thereby. Fig. 3 is a side elevation in part section of the pile drag or presser foot mechanism. Fig. 4 is a plan of same showing the combing wheel and separating mechanism' in horizontal section. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Fig. l shows the general arrangement of a continuous sheet feeding machine. 6 is the feed roller adapted to feed the bank of sheets from' the top table 7A to the lower table 8. This feeding roller or drum 6 is driven or actuated `in any suitable way and under any suitable control. Such actuation and control forms no part of the present application, and therefore will not be described. The combing Wheel 9 is rotated and actuated into and out of operative osition by a suitably controlled means 'kewise formin no part of the present application.

.It Wil peenongh to state for the pur- A Serial No. 860,204.

poses of the present application that-the feed yroller or drum gradually moves then bank from the upper table 7 to the lower table 8 and forward upon the lower table 8 to the combing rollers 9, said roller or drum being controlled soas to keep just suicient thickness of the bank of sheets beneath the combing wheel and that the combing wheel is operated and controlled to step the sheets forward one in advance of the other y that is extremely hard to comb, it is desirable to have more or less weight on the bank. This weight should rest on the bank several steps or sheets back of the top sheet. They serve a double'purpose; one to retard the rear or under sheets, and thus increase the separation or steps in the upper sheets l the other purpose is to give a constant resistance to comb against, thereby making the hard and soft7 spots in the bank less`marked. It isa well known fact that a pile or bank does no't comb uniformly; frequently combs quite easily in some placesand quite hard in other places; changing suddenly from one condition to the other. with a constant resistance, decreases thepercentage of variation between the eXtreme conditions ofhard and soft places.

The pressure on the combing wheels is set to comb against the natural resistance of the paper plus the resistance caused by the pressure ofthe drag. On hard combing The drag, acting paper, where only a very few sheets are The explanation given above shows the advantages gained by using Ithe drag. However, the machine can be adwsted t0 operate without it. In practice, thechanging of the pressure -due to weight or spring on the drag isone ofthe adjustments-most the amount of air frequently made in operating th King pile feedera secure [the proper length of steps in the combed-gilt sheets. A

The pressure weight now under` consideration is provided with a diaphragm, see Fig. 5. This diaphragm is rigidly attached to thepar on the paper is direct gravity. There are two of these pressure devices complete, one back of each combing wheel. Each one is provided'to carry extra weights for example, 12 andc13. However, it is expected that with one of these weights on each device, practically all kinds of paper can be successfully handled.

The adjustment consists in the control of admitted to the diaphragm head. These diaphragm heads are so arranged that they are lifted when suliicient compressedl air is admitted to them, the inclosed piston and'piston rod remainr` ingstationary.

he diaphragm or pneumatic head is rigidly secured, to the sleeve 14 which carries the presser foot 15. The pin 16 is rigidly secured to the outer casing 17 which is adjustably connected When air pressure is admitted to the head 19 above the diaphragm piston 20 piston rod 21 being in engagement with pin 16 it follows that the said piston rod can have no further downward movement, the result is, that the diaphragm head 19, sleevev 14 and presser foot l5 are correspondingly lifted. The hollow sleeve 14 isv provided with slots as at 22 -to permit relative movement between said sleeve to the fixed Vpin 16. The result is that, as thepressure is increased above the diaphragm 20, the pressure of the presser foot is relieved. In this way it follows that the pressure exerted by presser foot 15 is gradually relieved as the pressure in the diaphragm head increases. By this arrangement only one set of valves is necessary to control both heads. This set consists of two valves, a needle valve and a balanced piston valve. The piston valve is operated by the` vertical movement of the left hand combing wheel.

Rear pressure weights or drag weights.- This valve and valve operating mechanism is illustrated inl Fig. 2. The valve piston 23 is provided with a suitable casing having chambers connected one with the source of airsupply 24 and the'othe'r connected with the diaphragm head 19. The piston 23 is adapted to establish communication between the air pressure supply and the diaphragm head in of said communication and establish communication between the diaphragm head and It is one of the adjustments used to t bearing on the bank. It also forms part of the weight. All the weight bearing 10 with the bracket 18.

one position and between the cut off the arm 26 which is mounted on the shaft 27. Vhen the combing wheel is down, the valve connects the compressed air supply with the diaphragm heads. Vhen the combing wheel is up, the valve shuts off the supply of air to the diaphragm heads, and instantly exhausts the air pressure in them to the atmosphere. The compressed air, before reaching the piston valve, passes through a needle valve 28. The manual adjustment of this needle valve constitutes theadjustment of the drag weight; this adjustment alone being sufficient for working from the easiest to the hardest combing papers.

For easy combing paper the needle valve should be open only slightly. Under this condition, when the combing wheels go down, the drag weight is very slowly lifted, just as slowly'as the operator may desire. .The greater part of the weight of the drag being on the paper when the combing Wheels first come into action, this weight` more or less rapidly becomes lighter during the combing interval.

For hard combing paperthe needle valve may be opened quite wide, with the result that the drag is lifted clear of the paper about the time the combing wheels reach the paper. lVlien the valveis so adjusted, the drag weight would not have any influence in retarding the combing action of thewheels.

lVith the needle valve the operator can quickly get any speed in lifting, from a movement barely noticeable to the quickest speed required. The adjustment of the needle valve is made with the ma- .iine in operation, so that the result of any change in adjust-ment can be quickly seen. The adjustment of the needle valve is equivalent to changing the weight of the drag; but the operation of lifting the drag, and thus changing the weight of the drag during the combing interval does more than that. Its efl'ect is to automatically take care of the. hard and easy combing parts of the bank, without the operator making frequent adj ustments to suit the varying conditions. The explanation of how this is accomplished is as follows 1-The combing wheels are arranged to remain in action upon the sheet until the sheet is brought into position under the valve trip fingers at the feed roller. If this time exceeds the part of the cycle allowed to combing action, it will cause a miss in feeding, the sheet being taken away on the succeeding cycle of the machine. When the machine is properly adjusted` the normal time of combing will not exceed half of the time allowance. The hard combing partsf the bank will require more thannormal time; the easy parts less than normal., The weight of the drag is gradually lessened during the combing. For illustration, consider that it is lifted clear of the paper at the end of the normal or average combing time. In this case the additional combing time, when working on ahard combing place, will be under the most favorable condition, having no drag resistance to comb against. On the other' hand, when an easy combing place is encountered, the wheels remain down less than the normal time, perhaps half of the normal time. In this case the entire combing will be againstthe resistance of the -drag. This increases the length of steps over what they would otherwise be. It also increases the interval of time that the wheels remain down over what it would otherwise be. In other Words, it shortens the long combing interval, and lengthens the short combing interval. It shortens the length of the steps that go with a hand combing place; and lengthens the steps that go with an easy combing place.

It may be explained here that easy combin-g places tend to make short steps, more sheets being in motion; ,and -hard combing places tend to make long steps, a less number of sheets being in motion.- A heavy drag resistance means less sheets in motion, while a light drag resistance vmeans more sheets in motion. It will thus be seen that a gradually lifting drag weight effects a valuable automatic balance to the combing action.

What I claim is:

1. In a sheet feeder, the combination with means for operating the combing rolls, of a pile drag, means for feedingA a bank-of sheets forward to the combing rolls, and means for relieving the pressure of the pile drag on the sheets `during the forward feed i of the latter.

.2. In a sheet feeder,the combination with means for operating the combing rolls, of a pile drag resting on the sheets, means for feeding a bank of sheets forward to the combing rolls, and means for relieving the pressure of the pile drag on the sheets during the forward feed of the latter.

3. In a sheet feeder, the combination with means for operating-the combingrolls' of a pile drag, means for feeding a barili of sheets forward to the combing rolls, and"'lneans for relieving the pressure of the pile-drag on the sheets at regular intervals during I the forward feed of the latter.. l 4. In a sheet feeder, the combination with means for operating the combing rolls of a pile drag, means for feeding a bank of sheets forward to the combing rolls, means for applying .pressure to the pile drag, and means for relieving said pressure during the forward feed of the sheets. A

5. In a sheet feeding machine, a sheet supporting table, sheet actuating means, a pivotally supported bracket, a presser foot connected therewith and a supporting wheel or roller for the bracket.

first mentioned valve.

. therein, iifeansoperated by the piston to engage theLbrcket arranged so that upon admission of air pressure to the head the presser foot is elevated, and a valve for controlling the pressure to the pneumatic head.

a 8. In a sheet feeding machine, a combingA wheel, a supporting bracket, a presser foot`- movable therein, a pneumatic head connected with the presser foot, a piston operating therein, a piston rod adapted to engage the bracket arranged so that upon admission of air pressure to the head the presser foot is elevated, a valve for controlling the air pressure to the pneumatic head and a valve controlled by the combing wheel also for con-l trolling the pressure to the pneumatic head'. 9. In a sheet feeding machine, a combing wheel, a supporting bracket, a presser foot movable therein, a pneumatic head connectedwith the presser foot, a piston operating n therein, a piston rod adapted to engage the bracket arranged so that upon admission of air pressure to the head the presser foot is elevated, a valve for automatically controlling the pressure to the pneumatic head, and an arbitrarily operated valve for `regulating the amount of air pressure controlled by the l10. In a sheet feeding machine, a combing wheel, a supporting bracket, a presser foot movable therein, a pneumatic head connected with the presser foot, a piston opera. piston rod adapted to 'en- 110 ating therein, th t d so a upon a gage the bracket arranged mission of air pressure to thel head the presser foot is elevated, a valve for controlling the pneumatic head, and a needle for V regulating the air pressure to the pneumatichead. v 4

11, In a sheet feeding machine, a combing wheel, a supporting-bracket, a presserv foot movable therein, a pneumatic head connected with the presser foot, a piston operatingv therein, a member operated by the piston adapted to engage the bracket arranged so that upon admission of air pressure to the head the presser foot is elevated, a valve controlled bv the combing wheel 12b control mechanism for controlling the pneumatic head, and a hand operated valve foradjusting the air pressure.

12. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of'a combing wheel, a presser foot, 1;"0

'a fixed supporttherefor, a pneumatic head connected with the presser' foot, a piston therein and means operated thereby adapted to engage the fixed support, the parts arranged so that pressure in the head causes .bination of a combing wheel, a presser foot,

a fixed-support therefor, a pneumatic head therein adapted to engage the fixed support, the parts arranged .so that pressure in the head causes the elevation of the presser foot, a valve controlled by the combing wheel for controlling the pneumatic head asv means whereby the presser' foot is elevated when the combingwheel ldescends and vice versa, and a regulating lvalve for'eontrolling the efficiency of said 'pneumatic actuation.

14. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a combing wheel, a presser foot, a fixed support therefor, a. weighted pneumatic head connected with the presser foot, a piston therein adapted to engage the fixed support, the parts arranged so that pressure in lthe head causes the elevation of the connected'with 4the presser foot, a piston presser foot, a valve controlled by the combcontrolling the pneumatic ing wheel for head as means whereby the presser foot is elevated when the combing wheel descends and vice versa, and a regulating valve between the` first. mentioned valve and the pneumatic head.

15. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a combing wheel, a presser foot,

I I |31 supporting means therefor; auf pnuematic head connected with the presser foot, a piston operating therein, a member' operatedby the piston for engaging the supporting means whereby the presser foot and head are lifted when air pressure is admitted t0.

the head, a valve for automatically admitting and discharging air pressure t0 and from the head and an arbitrarily operated valve forA adjusting the air passage between the air pressure supply and the head whereby the speed of lifting the presser foot is regulated.

1G. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a combing wheel, a presserfoot, supporting means therefor, a pneumatic head connected with the presser foot and controlling its movement, an air valveactlng relatively to the combing wheel actuation,`

adjusted while the machine/is operating, for controlling the speed of presser footvactuation. y v

HOWARD K. KING. Witnesses:

HOWARD S. SIUE,

MAE HorMANN. 

